Melia Robinson/BI New York Comic Con brings out the inner geek in all of us.

It's hard not to fangirl or fanboy all over the place when you're in over 800,000 square feet of exhibit space, packed with limited-edition collectibles, yet-to-be-released video games, stunning artwork, and costumed fans, or cosplayers.

Thursday marked Day 1 of the ninth year of New York Comic Con. If you were lucky enough to land a pass to this weekend's extravaganza, these are the booths you can't miss.

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Each year, Day 1 of Comic Con — which falls on a Thursday and typically boasts a lighter crowd — gets more and more impressive. This year certainly did not disappoint.

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Outside, gigantic "Teen Titans" balloons loomed over the entrance to the Javits Center. Robin seems to be having fun already.

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Inside the lobby, Chevrolet and Uber showed off their limited-edition taxi fleet, each wrapped in designs featuring beloved characters from various comic publishers, studios, and production houses. Chevrolet and Uber teamed up to give free rides to the Javits Center in a fleet of nine specially decorated themed Chevys.

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Wikia's food truck was there, too, and will be giving away free "fantasy foods" this weekend, including Disney Fantasia's Meat the Band-wich and Adventure Time's Bacon Pancakes. The menu was determined by a bracket, and members of the Wikia community voted.

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Megabots Inc. brought out the big guns: the beginnings of a 15-foot-tall, 15,000-pound humanoid robot. The three engineers behind this robotics startup believe the next generation of sports leagues is "giant fighting robots," capable of firing paint-filled projectiles at speeds of more than 120 mph.

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This concept art shows off what a finished MegaBot will look like. The company will launch a Kickstarter campaign later this month to raise funds to finish the $1 million bot.

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Upon entering The Block, or the main showroom, you're greeted by a two-story head of Smaug, the dragon from "The Hobbit" franchise. Its eyes glowed and blinked, although Benedict Cumberbatch was nowhere to be found.

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Nearby, an incredibly life-like statue of Gollum was peering into the crowds. We saw many people taking selfies with him.

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Artists are some of the biggest rockstars of Comic Con. On the showroom floor, people crowded around a group of women artists painting massive canvases, each reflecting her particular style.

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Artist CJ Draden started with a plain piece of glass, painted it white, and used an X-Acto knife to etch out a portrait of Groot. His prints go for about $20.

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Groot, of "Guardians of the Galaxy," was everywhere — in paintings, cosplay, and the toy aisle. Toy Tokyo, a New York City destination for designer art toys, vintage collectibles, and Comic Con-exclusive products, showcased this not-yet-released Groot prototype.

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According to a Toy Tokyo employee, customers waited up to five hours in line to get their hands on some of its merchandise. The Japanese vinyl Hikari dolls and Disney products were among the most popular. We spotted quite a few Anna and Elsa dolls from Disney's "Frozen" being picked off the shelf.

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Comic Con is an unparalleled marketplace for the highest-quality collectibles. These "Walking Dead" figurines were teeny tiny, without sacrificing an ounce of terror.

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These one-sixth-scale Harry Potter and Ron Weasley figurines by Star Ace were just about the cutest things we saw. Ron came with a pet rat and ugly Christmas sweater, while Harry had Hedwig and a Quidditch broom by his side.

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SMS Audio by 50 Cent — a designer headphone line by 50 Cent, Carmelo Anthony, and Timbaland — sold these limited-edition "Star Wars" headphones for $199, exclusively at the Con. They came with a matching USB drive that looked like a miniature C-3PO, Darth Vader, or Stormtrooper.

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The beeps of a life-size R2-D2 seemed to be a ringing endorsement of Fitty's headphones.

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Some Con-goers spent their money on more whimsical items. Lindsay Stewart, owner of The Elven Caravan, has been customizing "elf ears" at renaissance festivals and comic book conventions across the country for six years. The ears are sculpted from a latex mold, trimmed to fit the client's ear size, and dusted with powder to match his or her skin tone.

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Isadora Batistatos, a big "Lord of the Rings" fan, purchased a $20 pair. She says it felt kind of slimy and sound reverberated in her ears, but that they were totally worth it.

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Ryan Matthew Cohn is a purveyor of antiques and oddities, which both describe his human teeth collection. Sold for $5 each, many of the teeth come from medical facilities and were used by medical students to practice filling cavities.

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Speaking of body parts, Smooth-On is a special-effects company that specializes in foam movie props (like soft cinder blocks) and fake wounds. According to the booth operator, their clientele includes Disney, Homeland Security, NASA, and NASCAR, and "you haven't seen a movie in the last 30 years that didn't use one of our products."

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Of course, video games had a huge presence. In Video Village, players could test out yet-to-be-released games "Valiant Hearts," "Tetris Ultimate," "Just Dance 2015," and "Payday 2" and the recently launched "Alien Isolation."

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Inside the "Skylanders" booth, young gamers could try out the the fourth installment in the franchise, "Trap Team," which hit shelves Oct. 2. Kids seemed very serious about it.

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For the first time publicly, Dreamworks partnered with Oculus Rift to bring a little magic to Comic Con. Users strapped on an Oculus virtual reality headset and entered the world of "How to Train Your Dragon 2," where you are the main character, Hiccup, and you fly your dragon Toothless through the clouds.

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The Geico booth had karaoke, virtual pinball, and most impressively, this 3-D imaging photo studio. Using technology designed by PictureU, eight cameras snap away simultaneously to produce a panoramic image of the subjects against a New York City backdrop.

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Here's what the final product looked like. The clip is sent to the subject's email, along with Geico advertisements.